Whitney Cummings says Trump joke was cut from Mark Twain special
Netflix told Variety the Kennedy Center had the contractual power to remove a Donald Trump joke from Whitney Cummings’ set.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Whitney Cummings says one of her Donald Trump jokes will not appear in Netflix’s broadcast of Bill Maher’s Mark Twain Prize ceremony, even though she performed it onstage at the Kennedy Center.
The ceremony honoring Maher took place June 28 at the Kennedy Center and began streaming on Netflix on July 21. Cummings discussed the edit on the July 18 episode of her “Good for You” podcast, according to Variety.
The joke targeted Trump by referring to his past association with Jeffrey Epstein. Cummings’ line, as reported by Variety, was: “Donald Trump couldn’t make it tonight. He got caught in sex traffic.”
Cummings said the joke survived the live performance but was later marked for removal from the streaming version. “It stayed in, and then they said we would like to cut it out,” she said on the podcast, without identifying who “they” referred to.
Netflix told Variety that it did not want to remove material from comedians’ sets, but said the decision rested elsewhere. “While it’s our preference not to cut jokes from anyone’s set, The Kennedy Center has the contractual right to do so,” a Netflix spokesperson said.
Cummings also pushed back on claims that Netflix had censored her. In a post on X, she wrote that she was “super clear” Netflix did not cut anything from her Mark Twain Prize set and said the streamer “always supports comedy and comics.”
The comedian said on her podcast that Kennedy Center staff were “amazing” and did not want to suppress performers. She added that because Trump is their boss, “they did their job.”
Cummings said the joke had already spread online because audience members heard it at the ceremony. Her view on the requested edit, according to her podcast, was that the line was already public.
She also said she was told Trump might sue over it. Cummings said she initially doubted that risk, then remembered Trump’s 2013 lawsuit against Maher after Maher joked that Trump was the “spawn” of his mother and an orangutan, Variety reported.
Cummings framed the edit as awkward for a night built around the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The Kennedy Center’s website says the prize honors figures whose work includes “fearless” observations and an “uncompromising” view of society. Previous recipients include George Carlin, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy and Jon Stewart, according to Variety.
One Trump joke from Cummings’ set did make the Netflix version. She joked about the president’s influence over Kennedy Center programming by telling the crowd to enjoy a future three-month run of a white “Hamilton.”
On her podcast, Cummings contrasted the fate of the two lines, saying the joke implying racism drew no objection.
“Bill Maher: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor” is available to stream on Netflix.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.